October 2012

10/31/2012

ere I was halfway to getting a What's New? post scraped together from what few wood-soled styles I could find that were freshly on the market...when suddenly it dawned on me that it's Halloween! And something deep in my brain remembered seeing a collection of images and links I'd put aside in my To Post folder marked "Halloween 2012". Well, that would be today, wouldn't it? So naturally I took a closer look and liked what I saw. What better way to observe the holiday than with an assortment of some of the scariest footwear I could find!

Of course, some clog loving purists might object to these styles because of their total lack of wood in the list of composition materials. In which case let me direct your attention to a scary pair of shoes of a different sort. Available through Etsy seller sacchetto.

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[On my feet as I blog: a regular reader came by a pair of Kork-Ease sandals that were too small in the width. Since we're very close in size, this kind soul forwarded them to me. I slipped them on, discovered that they fit, and proceeded to keep them on my feet while I composed this post. Thank you, M. L.!]

10/30/2012

ddly, this grab bag topic has become one of my favorites to post. I love getting pics from friends and fellow fanatics that I can share with you without having to wrestle the content into a coherent theme or surrender too much time to doing research. And I love that I have readers and well-wishers alike who take the time to send me images and trivia to blog about. I guess posts like this one remind me of life...which itself is an unruly mishmash of happenstance, coincidence, and fate somehow loosely related to a theme. It's a challenge to pull it all together and make something of it. But what other choice is there?

So it's another day. What cards have I been dealt? Let's take a look.

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Pedro Garcia clog pumps

Just got an e-mail from Leah over at BigFootStrikesAgain. She spotted the Erika clog pump from Pedro Garcia on the company's Facebook page. I first showcased the style on ECHID back in August, but I found the photo...and the shoes...appealing enough to share with you here. I really love how the size is actually engraved in the rubber sole pad. Clever!

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Rockport clog boot sighting

A good friend and fellow footwear fanatic by the name of Minax used to live in Chicago, and ever since she relocated to San Francisco for the better business opportunities, I've missed comparing shoe lusts with her. Fortunately, she still gives me a glimpse into what's keeping her feet on the ground. Take these Tardy booties from Jeffrey Campbell, for example.

Or this Jeffrey Campbell saddle shoe/Nightwalk mash up that caught her eye on eBay.

Knowing what a passionate clog fan I am, Minax keeps her eyes peeled for me and her iPhone handy. And happily, she caught sight of the Meja clog boot from Rockport in the wild. I love them in green. Partly because it's such an unexpected shade. And partly because it's the color I turned when I saw the image. I was won over to Rockport clog boots with their Katja style back in February. (I think a drop in price had something to do with it.) Once I tried them on and discovered how well they fit me, I suddenly remembered the Meja clog boot that had come out the year before. And which I neglected to take for a test drive. So when I finally realized that the Meja might have fit and that I'd love a pair in green, they were all well and truly gone. Seeing this picture from Minax gave me a pang. You've probably felt it, too. The recognition of the shoe that got away.

(sniff)

Give me a moment to collect myself.

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Calleen Cordero Spring/Summer 2013

It always feels odd to be contemplating what I'll yearning for next summer when I haven't fully broken out my winter sweaters yet, but here I go. Take a look at the wooden wonders this California designer has recently dreamt up. Coming soon to CalleenCordero.com.

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Leatherwork and wisdom

I made the trek to downtown Chicago to visit what I think is the best shoe repair shop in the city. Years ago these folks had worked wonders with a number of my prized footwear possessions. Occasionally I had found a great fitting boot that wanted to wear to work with leggings, but the top of the shaft was clearly fashioned for fuller calves than mine. So rather than flop around in a body-conscious style that was fitting like a seven-league boot, I took those spacious pairs to this singular shop to be taken in. And that's exactly what they did. I put on the boots. The cobbler marked up the leather to be taken in. Then they split the seam of the boot up the back, made the adjustments, and put them back together looking as good as new. You can understand why I'm thrilled with their work. And in my many visits in years past, I struck up a genial relationship with the owner. He came to appreciate my eclectic style and welcomed me warmly every time I visited.

Flash forward to Monday when I drove to the Loop, put my car in a garage, and made my way to their current location. Plans were made to repair and revise the two pairs of boots I brought in, but before I left, the owner arrived and we spent some time getting reacquainted. It was great catching up considering that I hadn't been in in about six or seven years. Maybe longer. It was as though no time had elapsed at all, but clearer the two of us had had our share of knocks in the days that had passed since we last spoke. I loved catching up, but what I took away in particular was his assessment of life in his later years. He spoke of turning 60 and finally reaching the point where he didn't care what other people think. Listing off some of his learning experiences, he summed up the philosophy that was making him happiest today: f**k anxiety, f**k depression, and f**k guilt.

Brilliant! I'm sure that approach would definitely solve a few problems for me, too!

I'd love to introduce you to this exceptional shoe repair shop if you ever find yourself in need in the Chicago area, but considering the owner's colorful way of expressing himself, I didn't want to turn what was a private conversation into a very public one without permission. But if you contact me via the About page, I'll gladly steer you in their direction.

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[On my feet as I blog: those glorious Savanna shearling lined boots from UGG Australia. I do believe I walk a little taller with them on my feet, taller than the 4" heel alone can account for.]

10/29/2012

hose videos about British clog maker Jeremy Atkinson were very well received this past Thursday. It seems only fitting that I should follow up with a video or two about the Welsh clog maker who alerted me to their existence. I'm referring to Trefor Owen...who I'm sorry to say I first introduced to this blog after he pointed out that I had other U. K. clog makers listed in my sidebar, but not himself. Ooops! Trefor's work may be a wee bit familiar if you recall the post that featured a Welsh designer by the name of Fflur. He's the man who crafted the clogs for this young woman's degree collection. From my brief e-encounters with him, I can tell you he's very much what Fflur called him in an e-mail to me:

I'm sure he would love to discuss clogs with you. He's like the clog god! He knows everything you will ever need to know about them.

Well, after so much water under the bridge, I'm happy to be able finally to give him the acknowledgment he clearly merits. And with any luck, I hope to honor him with a full feature in the future on ECHID. Fingers crossed.

For the moment, though, let me at least let you get to know Mr. Owen better through the videos of him that exist on YouTube. He and his wife Rhiannon (don't you just love the fact that that's her name?) got into the clog making business due to their love of traditional dancing in the U. K. And fashion fiends that you and I might be, it's apparently the art of Morris dancing that fuels the craft. Trefor writes that he's currently training a young Morris dancer from New England in the skills necessary to create a proper pair of shoes.

But this is all information I hope to cover in some future interview with Trefor Owen. I am content to simply whet your appetite with these short pieces from YouTube.

Enjoy!

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[On my feet as I blog: showing solidarity with my extremely good friend Melissa by wearing a pair of rubber rain boots while I putter about the condo taking care of a 6 hour writing project for a client. It was cool and clear in Chicago, but in Miss Melly's part of the world, Hurricane Sandy is knocking on the door.]

10/28/2012

et's overlook the fact that this dress-up doll marketed to young girls has a name straight out of a strip club or porn video. She was named "Sindy" back in the early '60s which to my mind makes the fact that some marketing department thought it was a bright idea all the more astounding. But then, she is British. And growing up in America during her heyday, I can probably be excused for not being aware of her existence.

If you're in the dark yourself, let me allow Wikipedia to fill you in:

Sindy is a Britishfashion doll created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys in 1963. A rival to Barbie, Sindy's wholesome look and range of fashions and accessories made it the best sellingtoy in the United Kingdom in 1968 and 1970. After Marx Toys' unsuccessful attempt to introduce Sindy in the United States in the late 1970s, Hasbro bought the rights to Sindy and remodelled the doll to look more American. As a result, the doll's popularity declined and Barbie manufacturer Mattel filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement, which was settled when Hasbro agreed to remodel Sindy's face. During the 1990s, Barbie's share of the doll market continued to grow while Sindy's diminished, which led to Sindy being delisted from major retailers in 1997. Hasbro returned the doll's licence to Pedigree, and the doll was relaunched in 1999, manufactured by Vivid Imaginations. Sindy's 40thanniversary in 2003 saw a new manufacturer, New Moons, and another relaunch and redesign. Barbie and Bratz dolls now dominate Sindy's original target audience of pre-adolescents, so Sindy is aimed at preschool-aged girls.

There! More than you really needed to know. But you know how I do enjoy being thorough. Earlier this year, this Barbie wannabe surfaced in an unexpected role: selling shoes. People shoes. The kind that you or I might shop for and wear. The iconoclastic footwear maker Irregular Choice selected Sindy to roll out their Spring/Summer 2012 designs, and I have to say the resulting lookbook was totally inspired. Bravo, IC! (And kudos to Amber McNaught at ShoeperWoman.com for putting these images on the web all the way back in January. Pay her website a visit to see more.)

Keep in mind that these styles were announced for the Spring/Summer 2012 collection and you may not find them currently available in the Irregular Choice web store. (Which, by the way, now allows Americans to place orders from the U. K. store if the U. S. site is out of stock. Woo-hoo!)

Not a post about clogs today, obviously. But the creative conceit of selling shoes via Barbie doll style vignettes was too delightful not to share. I actually happened upon the images because a few days back I was drooling (what else is new?) over a clog like bootie that Solestruck had just listed from Irregular Choice, the Mandarim.

The style is indeed TDF*, but I loved the image of it in action that regular reader Melissa was able to wrest from the depths of the 'net. She spotted it on the Facebook page of a shoe merchant in Sarajevo. I found the image as totally over-the-top exuberant as most of the Irregular Choice styles.

* to die for

But it struck me that there was more to the image than just some Bosnia and Herzegovinian retailer marketing her wares. I smelled an honest to DOC photo shoot in progress. And with that intuition in mind and Google at my fingertips, I started datamining myself. And what I discovered was this: the image comes from the Irregular Choice Fall Winter 2012 campaign. The model is blogger and fashion designer Audrey Kitching. And apparently, she got to put the shoot together herself.

I got to style, shoot, model and art direct it! I chose my home town of Philly to do it in. We ran around all my favorite places in the city and even shop some at a floral theme hotel!

All well and good. But what I wanted was more images of those stellar boots.

And that's exactly what I got!

Now I just have to hold my breath and wait to see if they make them available in my size!

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[On my feet as I blog: my Rainbow Boots from John Fluevog got me through most of the day, but I changed into a pair of Nine West clog booties when it was time to kick back and keep the cat company.]